Four county teens held in Bennettsville armed robbery
By Bobby Bryant, Editor
Four Darlington County teen-agers, ranging from 14 to 18, have been charged in the armed robbery of a tobacco store in Bennettsville Nov. 26 in which an employee was hit in the head with a gun several times. Two of the suspects are boys; two are girls. The only suspects police can publicly identify are Shanti McKenzie, an 18-year-old girl, and Anthony Hickman, a 17-year-old boy. Also charged are a boy, 14, and another girl, 16. Their names are not being given out because they are juveniles. McKenzie and Hickman were being held in the Marlboro County jail; the juveniles are in custody of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice. The Bennettsville Police Department says the four teens are accused of robbing the #1 Tobacco & Vape shop at 1228 Bennettsvile Square in the Wal-Mart shopping plaza off Highway 9. At some point in the robbery, a store employee was struck in the head with a handgun multiple times, said Bennettsville Police Lt. Larry Turner. He said the store appeared to be a random target the teens chose. All the teens are being charged with armed robbery, he said. More suspects may also be involved, Turner said. Asked about the unusually young ages of some of the suspects, Turner said, “They’re not typical juveniles. … They have a list of previous trouble.”